Chicago-based UHYAdvisorsInc. (FY17 net revenue of $140.8 million) announced that JamesDaniels, one of the firm’s managing directors, has been elected to join the firm’s board of directors.

UHY’s 7-member board is charged with the stewardship of the firm, representing all of the managing directors in guiding corporate strategy, as well as reviewing and approving annual budgets. Daniels’ term of office commenced Jan. 1.
“Jim is a highly accomplished tax expert and is a well-respected leader within our firm,” says RichardDavid, COO of UHY Advisors. “His experience representing our firm externally as well as advising C-suite level executives, small business owners, and municipalities in regard to tax issues will be a welcome addition to the board.”

“We have a very strong leadership foundation in place and Jim joins a seasoned board,” says AnthonyFrabotta, chairman and board member of UHY Advisors. “Our board is a versatile team representing various geographic regions and professional specialties that bring unique and insightful perspectives to our firm.”
As a managing director with UHY Advisors NY Inc., Daniels leads the Albany office tax practice and oversees client services in areas of corporate, individual, estate and state and local tax issues.

PrimeGlobal, an association for independent accounting firms, announces the appointment of Stephen Heathcote as CEO, effective June 1, 2019.

“At this crucial moment of growth, Stephen Heathcote’s appointment is a clear reflection of PrimeGlobal’s commitment to its members and renewed leadership at the global level,” the association announced.

“After conducting a worldwide search, I am happy to announce the World Board was able to reach a unanimous consensus that Stephen was the right person to lead PrimeGlobal,” World Board Chairman Cornelius V. Kilbane Jr. says. “Our organization is one of the top international accounting associations in the world, and to have someone with Stephen’s leadership skills, experience with teams based in locations throughout the world, and an understanding of both global and regional needs means PrimeGlobal will continue to bring exceptional value to its members.”

The association has more than 300 members in 80 countries.

Heathcote’s background includes serving in the COO role at the UK Financial Reporting Council and as a senior manager at KPMG. He is also a key member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) executive team for the past 10 years.

“At a time when the profession faces many challenges, it has been refreshing to meet partners leading practices who are fully trusted by their clients and prepared to innovate to support them,” Heathcote says. “Prime Global shares the ambition of its members and draws on a vast range of expertise to ensure best standards and practices deliver success to members.”

Joseph Ucuzoglu has been elected CEO and Janet Foutty has been elected chair of the board of New York-based Deloitte (FY17 net revenue of $18.6 billion), the largest accounting firm in the country. Both terms begin June 2.

Ucuzoglu and Foutty will succeed current Deloitte US CEO Cathy Engelbert and chairman Mike Fucci at the conclusion of their four-year terms. In July, the firm told its partners that Engelbert, the first woman to run a Big 4 firm in the U.S., would not be renominated for a second four-year term. In December, Ucuzoglu and Foutty were named the official candidates, subject to a vote this year.

“Joe’s distinguished record of serving our clients and driving transformative, technology-driven change positions him to lead our firm as clients, the capital markets, and society at large turn to Deloitte to navigate the opportunities brought on by the fourth industrial revolution” says Fucci in a statement. “Janet’s extensive leadership experience across multiple dimensions of our businesses, combined with her deep understanding of technology and innovation, the workforce of the future, and her commitment to inclusion have earned her a broad followership internally and externally.”

He added, “I would like to offer my gratitude to Cathy, a recognized leader in the business community who has led Deloitte US during her term to record growth while making significant investments in innovation and supporting our people’s professional lives and career journeys with a series of groundbreaking initiatives.”

Ucuzoglu currently serves as the chair and CEO of Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he has overseen all aspects of the transformation of the audit and assurance practice over the past four years. Ucuzoglu serves several of Deloitte’s largest clients and serves on Deloitte Global’s board of directors.

The CPA Consultants’ Alliance (CPACA), a group of thought leaders aiming to further leadership within the CPA profession, met recently to discuss issues facing public accounting professionals. The group identified the key factors firms need to address to become future-ready and attract and retain NextGen talent and clients.

Roman Kepczyk

“As we explored what firms need to focus on to be future ready, we boiled it down to five key areas: leadership, talent, technology, client experience and growth,” asserts Roman Kepczyk, director of firm technology strategy for Right Networks who was named president of the CPACA. “We believe there are specific, actionable steps that firm leaders can take to progress in each of these fundamental areas,” says Kepczyk.

Over the coming year, CPACA will release a series of podcasts on each of these five focus areas to help firm leaders identify the actions they can take to secure their future.

In addition, the group added a new member, Matt Solomon, CEO at The Center for Enlightened Business. Solomon’s organization develops programs designed to empower firm owners to sell, price and deliver highly profitable client services.

“His passion, unwavering commitment to helping clients, and collaborative spirit are a great fit for the group and will help the CPACA achieve our goal of supporting and improving the leadership and future of the accounting profession,” says Angie Grissom, president of Rainmaker Companies.

“I’m honored and humbled to be part of such a heart-centered and powerful alliance of thought leaders who are willing to put their egos and personal agendas aside to find better ways to serve our shared community of accountants,” says Solomon.

During their recent meeting, CPACA members also approved the following slate of officers:

Henry+Horne Wealth Management of Scottsdale, Ariz., announces that Shaunna Anderson has been promoted to senior vice president and principal.

Over the course of her career, Anderson developed technical skills spanning all aspects of portfolio management, investment implementation and operations.

“Over the past several years, Shaunna’s contributions have helped redefine the quality and execution of the client experience while helping us grow substantially. Shaunna is one of the most dedicated and hard-working people I have ever met, and we are truly lucky to have her at Henry+Horne Wealth Management,” says Michael Carlin, president, Henry+Horne Wealth Management.

Anderson joined Henry+Horne Wealth Management in 2016. She has more than 15 years of financial and operational management experience, including working with individuals, affluent families and businesses to assess their investment portfolio needs.

“I joined the firm because I believed in the investment philosophy and the vision of how this business is supposed to be done. The depth of the work we do for clients and the amount of care we take with them is profound and meaningful in their lives and frankly, not something that is commonplace in our industry,” Anderson says.

Wealth Management LLC had been affiliated with Tempe, Ariz.-based Henry+Horne (FY18 net revenue of $27 million) for more than a decade and in 2017 became Henry+Horne Wealth Management.

Lancaster, Pa.-based RKL LLP (FY17 net revenue of $67.9 million) announced that Benjamin J. Fortner has been named leader of the firm’s expanded research and development (R&D) tax credit practice, which is part of the tax services group. Joining Fortner is Kerrie A. Wesley, who serves as R&D credit practice manager.

“Now that research and development tax credits are more widely available to even more industries, we’re proud to welcome highly regarded professionals like Ben Fortner and Kerrie Wesley to grow RKL’s R&D tax credit practice and help businesses across the nation take full advantage of this economic incentive,” says RKL CEO Edward W. Monborne.

Thanks to recent regulatory changes that removed limitations and expanded eligibility for these tax credits, more companies of various sizes and industries can reliably plan to use the credit dollar-for-dollar against their tax liability.

The practice specializes in partnering with all sizes of companies to capture tax benefits from development and improvement activities. Beyond the assessment and analysis to uncover current opportunities, the team also develops and implements internal procedures to position companies to track expenses and activities eligible for future credits.

“Most companies are underserved by the standard approach to R&D tax credit applications,” Fortner says. “The RKL team employs a custom approach and crafts a tailored analysis around the development process specific to each clients’ eligible research activities. This model translates into real dollars for our clients.”

Fortner has overseen hundreds of R&D tax credit studies in a wide variety of industries including architecture, engineering, construction, large-scale manufacturing, material production and mining, agriculture and precision metal machining.

Wesley has a successful history of creating tangible value for businesses in a number of industries, including manufacturing, tool and die, construction, architecture, mechanical contractors and agriculture.

San Francisco-based Andersen Tax (FY17 net revenue of $247 million) has admitted Al Nunez as a managing director in the commercial practice group, working from the San Francisco office.

Nunez has over 20 years of tax experience and specializes in working with clients on various matters including compliance, consulting, transfer pricing and cross-border transactions.

“Al’s extensive background in ASC 740, ASC 718 and uncertain tax positions will provide valuable skill and expertise in the San Francisco office. His overall leadership in business development and mentoring staff will contribute to the success of the office’s growth,” says U.S. Country Managing Director Dan DePaoli.

Prior to joining the team at Andersen Tax, Nunez was a federal tax partner at RSM LLP. He also previously worked at EY.

Jeff Phillips, co-founder and CEO of recruitment platform Accountingfly, has joined ElefantTraining as an advisor and investor.

Elefant Training is a technology and practice management training company that focuses on building modern accounting practices, and Phillips will provide guidance on strategies to address the critical need for accounting and bookkeeping staff with modern skills.

“Firms looking to scale must adopt and constantly review new technology, which means hiring tech-curious talent who know the latest apps, know accounting and know how to advise clients. These three-tool players are younger and they don’t want to work in a stale, traditional firm,” Phillips says in a statement on the Elefrant Training website.

Amanda Aguillard, founder of Elefant Training says, “In the two years since I founded Elefant, staffing has consistently been a sticking point as modern accounting firms are retooling their practices around cloud software and advisory services. The relationship between staffing and training is critical because the industry is changing so rapidly.”

Whitman Business Advisors, an accounting industry advisory firm, has announced that Rick Fisher has joined the team as a consultant for human resources and M&A services.

Fisher is the former PIC of the human resources department of New York-based EisnerAmper (FY18 net revenue of $360.7 million) with more than 40 years of diversified experience in accounting, finance and human resources.

During that period, Fisher’s responsibilities include recruiting, mentoring, compensation strategies, development of personnel policies, staff scheduling and budgeting, including long-range strategic planning. Fisher was the plan administrator of the firm’s 401(k) retirement plan, profit-sharing plan and insurance programs.

“Amongst the top 100 CPA firm community Rick is a household name and recognized leader in the human resources space,” says president and CEO Philip Whitman. “Rick is a CPA who started working with Richard A. Eisner & Company when it was a 200-person CPA firm and helped the firm grow to 1,600 employees and over $300 million in annual revenues. Adding Rick to the WBA team adds considerable depth and breadth to our practice management consulting offering.”

Whitman Business Advisors works with more than a third of the top 100 accounting firms on talent acquisition, mergers and acquisitions, practice management consulting, growth strategies, MP coaching and more.

Fisher says, “I’ve been fortunate to work with some talented and dynamic leaders, who understood that the human resource function and the firms’ culture plays a vital part in a firm’s growth and sustainability.”

Paul, with more than 30 years of financial and operational leadership experience, is based in the firm’s Redwood City office.

Prior to joining Seiler, Paul spent 10 years as the executive director and CFO of Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman, an intellectual property law firm. He also served as chair of the firm’s executive management committee. In previous in-house roles, he oversaw the finances of investment management, data publishing and carpet manufacturing companies. At the outset of his career, he spent 10 years in auditing and forensics with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“Kevin’s expansive, deep background, his shared vision and unwavering commitment to providing best-in-class service to our clients in all facets of the firm will undoubtedly be an invaluable asset as we continue to reach new heights,” says Seiler’s CEO George Marinos. “In addition, Kevin’s friendly, warm demeanor blends perfectly with our culture.”

Paul says, “I am humbled and honored that I will be able to contribute to this esteemed firm in its growth, development and oversight, whilst continuing to maintain the best possible experience for our clients.”